Seasonal thoughts

It feels like winter now, lots of dark and gloomy days making photography a little testing.  I am ready for the New Year with this journal via Christina on Instagram.  If you put 'Mon Journal' into ebay you will find  a big selection of sellers.  It is produced by a Korean company and if like you are a sucker for a good notebook, you will be truly spoilt for choice.  The Christmas pixies have been given a few hints.

As a little reward to myself, I let myself crack on with a seasonal quilt beofre I start on a marathon of pyjama making ready for Fat Quarterly retreat classes next year- i know it is a long time off but samples need to be prepped so I must press on.  I am not one for Christmas fabrics in a big way but Dear Stella's You've been Jingled caught my eye months back at The Fat Quarter shop and when it was reduced so I brole my usual embargo on Christmas prints and bought a couple of FQ packs to make an easy quick winter family quilt to snuggle under together. Yardage is still available here.   I never use fabric ranges without a few extras additions so a few stash fabrics have crept in.  The quilt pattern is the easiest design ever and available for free.

I love red in the greyness of winter.  My little dog Lottie wears her fleece on cold damp days and always makes me smile!  I find red a hard colour to wear but it is a big feature in my fabric stash and the perfect heat to add to a winter quilt.

Janet Clare's beautifully accurate embroidery pattern of a robin has caught my eye for winter projects.  She creates subtle illustrative quilts, you will find a free Penguin mini quilt pattern at Fat Quarterly for further wintery ideas.

Should you feel like making a quick winter seasonal quilt without going too Christmassy, I found all these prints at Eternal Maker.  They all capture winter colours and patterns.

Blizzard by Basic Grey for Moda

Lucious woven French General for Moda Lumiere  de Noels- if I could wear red I would be sewing a Tova with this beauteous fabric!

 I have shown this print before and it went into my Paris Markets cushion (which ended up with Tacha from Fat Quarterly by the way!) It would make a great character print to mix with spots and stripes.  Michael Miller Any Cup Will Do

This doodle print reminds me of the tangles of Christmas lights, a very useable blender by Time and Beck for Moda

This Echino print would make a great focus fabric with its birds and berries

 Lecien make great reds and greens, this is from their Flower Sugar range.

This print makes me smile, Green Beans by Alexander Henry.  I even get hints of Christmas lights from this.  I haven't noticed this print before but I rather like its kitsch quality!

And Laurie Wisbrun's Brr range ticks many boxes.  This lacy snowflake print would also be great for English Paper Piecing fussy cutting and kaleidoscopic effect

And just in case I am repressing a need for full on Christmas imagery, here is a Christmas Time Sublime stitches pattern.  My daughter fell heavily for the penguins, high on the cute-o-meter

More Christmas patterns to come from Sew-Ichigo next week, we hope to release before USA celebrated Thanks Giving and it is a bumper bundle of quick and easy seasonal paper piecing patterns and projects perfect for gifts.